Quick change roller die assembly



April 1961 H. s. LANDERS 2,981,212

QUICK CHANGE ROLLER DIE ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 19, 1959 HARVEY s. LANDERSINVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y United States Patent QUICK CHANGE ROLLER DIE ASSEMBLY HarveyS. Landers, 207 E. Broadway, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed Jan. 19, 1959, Ser.No. 787,596

3 Claims. (Cl. 107-14) This invention relates to pellet mills such asthose used in the preparation of feed for livestock. Particularly, theinvention is directed to an assembly including a rotating cylindricalextrusion die and rollers therein mounted on a non-rotating shaft.

An object of the invention is to provide a removable roller and dieassembly which may be quickly installed in and removed from a pelletmill, thereby reducing the time the mill is not producing, for example,when repairs or die changes are being made.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide means whereby the rollersmay be adjusted to the dies prior to installation in the mill, thusreducing delay in production.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rugged removableroller and die assembly, yet one which will not damage the mill in theevent extraneous matter jams the rotating die.. These and other objectswill become apparent from the following description and accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken side elevation and sectional view of a portion of apellet mill and including the present removable roller and die assemblywhich comprises a feature of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a broken elevation and sectional view similar to Figure 1,but showing the roller and die assembly partly removed from the outerdrive sleeve.

Figure 3 is an end view of the roller and die assembly and showing theradial die openings by means of broken section, and

Figure 4 is an end view of the tapered nut which detachably secures theinner drive sleeve in the outer drive sleeve.

The pellet mill shown in the drawing includes a frame having front andrear walls 11 and 12 secured to each other by spacers 13, but it is tobe understood that instead of spacers a continuous wall (not shown) maybe provided so that the frame, in effect will be a housing.

The assembly 15 comprising the primary feature of the invention includesan inner drive sleeve 16 having a circular extending flange 17 on itsouter end for supporting a cylindrical extrusion die 18. The outer faceof the flange 17 is recessed to receive the inner end of the die '18which is held in place by bolts 19 recessed in and extending throughsaid flange. The die 18 and flange 17 are positioned outwardly of andspaced from the outer surface of the front wall 11, and the inner drivesleeve 16 is of sufficient length to extend to the rear wall 12.

Extending through and spaced from the inner drive sleeve 16 there is amain shaft 20- supporting a pair of rollers 21' which make rollingcontact with the inner surface of the die 18 for pressing bulk materialsthrough radial die openings 22 therein. Not shown in the drawing, andforming no part of the present invention, there a spout extending intothe die 18 for supplying the bulk material to be pelletized. The shaft20 is supported in tapered roller bearings 23 mounted in each end of theinner drive sleeve 16, and the shaft 20 is shouldered, as at a, justinwardly of the rollers 21 to engage the inner race of the adjacent saidbearing. The shaft 20 is threaded, as at b, where the same is providedwith a nut 24 and washer 25 for bearing against the inner race of theother tapered bearing 23. The extending rear portion of the shaft 20 istapered at c where it is received in a flanged shear pin hub 26, and theextending end of the shaft 20 is threaded to receive a nut 27 and washer28 which bear against the outer surface of said shear pin hub. Keys 29and keyways 30 in the shaft 20 and hub 26 at the tapered portion securethe shaft against rotation.

Referring now to the opposite end of the shaft 20, the rollers 21 arerotatably mounted between inner and outer carrier plates 31 and 32 whichare secured to the nonrotating shaft 20. The inner plate 31 is rigidlysecured to the shaft 20-, whereas the outer plate 32 is removable. Eachroller 21 is mounted on a stub shaft 33, which rollers, in practice, areeccentrically mounted, not shown, for adjusting the rollers 21 relativeto the inner surface of the die 18. Such adjustability of rollers isconventional and forms no part of the present invention, and therefore,the same is not herein described in detail. Nuts 34 on the outer ends ofthe stub shafts 33 secure the outer plate 32 in place. The flanged shearpin hub 26 is supported in a C-shaped bracket 35 mounted on the outersurface of the rear wall 12, and shear pins 36, threadedly engaged inthe bracket, project into corresponding openings 37 in the flange 38 ofthe hub.

Rotatably mounted in the front and rear walls 11 and 12, and around andspaced from the inner drive sleeve 16, there is an outer drive sleeve 40having a driven pulley 4'1 thereon intermediate its ends. A driven gear,not-shown, may be used instead of pulley 41. The ends of the outersleeve 40 are supported in tapered bearings 42 mounted in the front andrear walls 11 and 12, and the pulley 41 is secured to rotate with theouter sleeve 44) by means of a key 43 therebetween. Keys 44 in the endof the outer sleeve 40 adjacent the die 18 secure said outer sleeve tothe inner sleeve 16, and keyways (not numbered) are tapered to limitinward movement of said die. In the end of the outer sleeve 40 oppositethe last described keys 44, there is a tapered nut 45 threadedly engagedon the end of the inner drive sleeve 16. Any suitable means may beemployed for turning the nut 45, and in the drawing projecting lugs 46are shown and whereby the nut may be tightened or loosened byharnmering.

It is contemplated that replacement roller and die assemblies 15 will beon hand during milling operations.

Thus, by merely manipulating two nuts, 27 and 45, the

assemblies may be quickly and conveniently changed.

The invention is not limited to the exemplary construction herein shownand described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. In a pellet mill, spaced front and rear supports,a driven outer sleeve rotatably mounted in said spaced supports, aninner drive sleeve received within and extending through said outersleeve, a shaft extending through said inner sleeve, a cylindrical diemounted on an extending end of said inner sleeve, rollers mounted onsaid shaft and in turning contact with the inner surface of saidcylindrical die, means securing said inner sleeve and said outer sleeveagainst relative rotation, a nut having an elongate body threaded onsaid inner sleeve opposite said die and engaging said outer sleeve atthe end thereof opposite said rollers for detachably securing said innersleeve in said outer sleeve, a nut on said shaft opposite said rollersand engaging said inner sleeve, and detachable means securing said shaftagainst rotation and whereby said shaft, said inner sleeve, said die andsaid rollers may be removed from said outer sleeve as a unit.

2. In a pellet mill as defined in claim 1, the construe r 2,981,212 tionwherein said nut on said inner sleeve opposite said shear pin hub, andat least one'key interconnectin'gsaid die has a tapered outer surfaceand engages a correspond- 1111b and Said shaft to Prevent fl. 0f thelatter ing surface in the end of said driven outer sleeve for fric-References Cited in the file of this patent tional engagenment therein.

' 3. In a pellet mill as defined in claim 1, the construc- 5 1 382 6063333 STATES 21 192] tion wherein said detachable means securing saidshaft 2:240:66) Meakin Z May 6 1941 against rotation is comprised of ashear pin hub, shear 2 700 9 1 John on Feb 1: 1955 pins therein andconnected with said mill, mounted on 2,798,444 M aki July 9, 1957 saidmill, an end of said shaft being received within said 10 2,887,718Curran et a1. May 26, 1959

